Day Fourteen

This trip just keeps getting better; we've decided we're not coming back. Oh, come on...who's surprised?? : ) Kidding, obviously...but what fun to stumble across all these unexpected delights!

After a couple of heavy driving days, we had a wonderfully relaxing day with my brother Jesse, his wife, Eva, the amazing Luke, his big brother, movie-mogul-in-the-making, David and their awesome dog, Tucker. We had lunch at the Chukchansi casino, as Jesse is the Head of IT for the Chukchansi tribe (thanks again for lunch, guys!). I'll admit, I haven't seen that many casinos (though I have been to Las Vegas) but this one is beautiful. David was in school today so he wasn't with us for lunch.

We returned to the house for a bit more visiting and to see David before we hit the road again. Jesse built the little bridge and Luke stained it. When it rains, fast water fills the creek beneath it but it was dry as a bone today. My family will appreciate the next several photos, so everyone else will need to humor us! We don't get to see our California contingent very often. (On another note, both kids have gotten into Lego stop-gap animation and posted it to YouTube. David's are at: nerfjellotutboy and Luke's are at sonicnerfboy. Nice work, guys!)

After saying good-bye to our gracious hosts (so nice to see you all!) we got on the very non-blue highway 90 for a while, headed for Barstow. We switched to route 58 to get us to the desert, and the scenery became unworldly. I've never seen anything like it (again!).

Pete needed a stop and pulled off randomly at the Tehachapi exit. Serendipity! This town and the people we met were so charming and nice, we're still here! I didn't want to miss the Mojave driving through in the dark anyway. The first place we peeked into was the train depot. We thought it might be a restaurant, but it's a cute little museum. Turns out Tehachapi (an old Indian town) is known for its railroad track, which forms a loop--the legendary (in railroad circles at least) Tehachapi Loop. The train circles around, gradually gaining elevation, until, seven stories above where it started the loop, it doubles back over itself (if it's long enough). According to the woman at the museum, not all engineers are qualified to make this loop. (What do you say, Dwayne?)

The couple at the museum were very friendly and nice, and they directed us to their favorite restaurant in town, the Mediterranean Delicatessen and Restaurant. Just before we left, a train went by--great timing!

We walked on stone-paved walkways through four-way stop intersections (no traffic lights for this pretty little town) and found the place. Like Portland, they observe "First Fridays," which is why the museum was still open, and why, after we ordered, a belly dancer appeared by our table. It was slightly awkward to have her thrusting body parts at us while we sat a foot in front of her waiting for our dinner (until we just looked at each other wondering what it might cost to make her go away) but she let us take her picture at any rate.

After waiting 20 minutes surrounded by tantalizing odors, we were served at last. The food was fantastic! Pete's beef kabob was tender and tasty as was my chicken and the rice was full of spices, including cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cardamum. Add Greek salad and hummus and it was our best meal yet. Stuffed and about to leave, we were stopped by the female proprietor who brought us free baklava. The male proprietor wanted to make up for the fact that he had run out of a couple of the apps we had requested. The dessert melted in our mouths. Mmmmmm!

A picture of the moon and we were on our way to Barstow...until we changed our minds and stayed. Tomorrow bright and early we see the desert. A special note to our dads--we hope you're both feeling better!